Research strategy

For many decades lasers have been most extensively used to study and investigate quantum systems and processes. As such studies focused mainly on the understanding of the system under observation, lasers were commonly used for probing or detection. Going a step further, laser-matter interactions were also found to permit control of quantum systems. Such control scenarios do not only rely on the strength of the laser-matter interaction. A rich variety of (on the first glance often quite surprising) phenomena arises, when the coherence of the driving radiation field is taken into account.